


Behind The Mask

by Tea_For_One



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Deadpool!Lance, Firefighter!Shiro, Here comes that Klangst™, Keith needs to chill, Kinda, Lance is annoying, Lance wants attention and Keith wants to be edgy and emo in silence, M/M, Oh shit whaddup, Shiro is kind of a mother hen, Spiderman!Keith, broganes, minor shallura, spideypool AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-11-11 12:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11148612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_For_One/pseuds/Tea_For_One
Summary: High school student by day and crime fighting superhero by night, Keith Kogane has a pretty crazy schedule as it is. Not to mention he has to deal with the two most annoying people on the planet: Lance McClain and Deadpool. But when Lance figures out his secret identity...well, let's just say things get crazier from there.





	1. Chapter 1

From an outside perspective, Keith and Lance were two  _ very  _ different people.

 

Lance was on the popular side of the spectrum, complete with a large group of friends and a outgoing personality. He was well-liked. People adored him for his good looks and funny jokes. They laughed at his horrible and cheesy attempts to flirt with anything that had a pulse. He did well enough in school, A’s and B’s mostly, but nothing that he really bragged about.

 

Keith was just the opposite: a recluse with only one friend, his brother Shiro. Keith was ignored by 90% of the people that attended school with him. Only recognized for his outstanding achievements in academics. Everyday he ate lunch alone, the only person he really talked to that was his age would be Pidge, and only when absolutely necessary.

 

It wasn’t that Keith wanted to be popular, he actually quite disliked the loud and obnoxious popular crowd, but it would be nice to have a conversation with someone that didn’t revolve around what the other missed during an absence to chemistry class.

 

In theory, Lance shouldn’t even  _ notice  _ Keith, much less be talking to him . So the question Keith seemed to ponder every day was why the hell did Lance make it his personal mission to annoy the shit out of him every day?

 

“What’re you doing all alone back here, Mullet?” Lance asks. Keith glares at him and he smiles. This was the reaction he was trying to get.

 

“Can you get off my desk,  _ please? _ ” The please sounded strained, as did the rest of the question. Lance could tell the other boy was trying to control his temper.

 

“Why? The teacher isn’t in here yet.”

 

“Yes, but the tardy bell rung two minutes ago and I’d like to get started on my work without your ass in the way.”

 

“What’s wrong with my ass?” Lance wiggled in demonstration, winking at Keith.

 

Keith sighed explosively and pushed Lance off of the desk, eliciting an indignant squawk out of the other. Lance got up from the ground and glared at him. Keith smirked and dropped his textbook on the desk triumphantly just as the teacher walked into the room, shouting, “That’s another tardy McClain!” at Lance. Lance pouted and made his way back to his desk.

 

___

 

Keith pushed open the front door to the old house on the edge of the city. Shiro, his older brother, was washing dishes in the kitchen as he came in. 

 

“Hey Keith. How was school?” He asked tiredly. Shiro had probably just got off another shift at the station. He was always working nowadays, leaving Keith alone most of the time. It wasn’t the best situation for a teenager to be in, but it was necessary for Shiro to keep a steady income that supported the two of them.

 

Keith shrugged, setting his backpack down lightly on a chair near the entrance of the kitchen and walked over to help Shiro with the dishes.

 

“Fine I guess,” he says noncommittally, “I had a test in chemistry.” Shiro looks at him as he hands him a plate to dry.

 

“How did you do?” He asks, interested, which isn’t odd for Shiro. He always cares, especially about his little brother.

 

“I aced it.” Shiro smiles, as if he wasn’t already expecting this answer.

 

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” He ruffles Keith’s hair, making the other scowl and pat it down again. Shiro reaches over to his right and grabs a towel, drying his hands with it. He rubbed at his eyes tiredly. “Right, I’m going to go sleep. I have another 12 hour shift tomorrow.”

 

“Again?” Shiro gave his brother an apologetic look.

 

“I’m sorry Keith, but things have been crazy lately. We’re having all of these electrical surges around the city that have been causing a lot of problems for us lately, so they need more firemen down at the station.” Keith let his shoulders drop in disappointment.

 

“But you’re  _ always  _ on shift. I feel like I never see you nowadays.” Keith wouldn’t admit it, but he was pouting. He and Shiro had always been close. Hell, they were inseparable as kids. Things hadn’t changed since their parents had died, they were still close. But Shiro wasn’t ever available to share his sorrows with his brother. He knew that Shiro hated it as much as he did.

 

“Hey, don’t look like that,” Shiro smiled reassuringly at him, “I’m off work on Friday, would you like to go see a movie or something?” He laughed at the way Keith’s face lit up.

 

“You mean it?” Shiro ruffled his hair.

 

“Of course I do,” Shiro brought his hand to his mouth as he yawned, “But for now, I need to sleep.” Keith ushered him out of the room.

 

“Then get out of here! You’re practically dead on your feet!” Shiro’s laughter could be heard from the hallway and Keith smiled as he turned back to the dishes.

 

___

 

Keith inhaled the breeze whipping around him through his mask. He smiled as he looked down at the city -  _ his  _ city - below him. He loved the sense of vertigo from being so high off the ground. The night air around him was calm, no spidey senses tingling and giving any sense of danger. He loved the feeling that the city gave him, knowing he was the protector of the citizens below.

 

“Heya Spidey!”

 

Well, not the  _ only  _ protector unfortunately.

 

Keith tensed at the sound of the voice, hoping if he ignored it, it would go away. Clearly, the voice had other ideas.

 

“What’cha doin’ up here Spidey? Brooding again?” Keith sighed.  _ Patience yields focus. _ That’s what Shiro had always taught him. 

 

“I am not brooding.” He replied evenly, turning to face the red and black masked superhero.

 

Deadpool was annoying at the best of times. At the worst he was god damn  _ unbearable _ . Sure, the invincibility was cool and the guy could fight, but he was such a  _ pest _ sometimes.

 

“If you weren’t brooding… What were you doing? Thinking about me?” The fabric over the eyes in Deadpool’s mask went up and down, indicating that he was moving his eyebrows. 

 

“You got me. I was thinking about twenty different ways I could snap your neck.” Keith said smoothly. Deadpool put a hand over his chest.

 

“Aww Spidey you  _ do  _ care!” He exclaimed. Keith rolled his eyes. Deadpool walked up to him and threw his arm around the other’s shoulders.

 

“What do you say, Spidey? Up for a night on the town? I know a spot near a convenience store. We could grab a bite to eat, beat up some criminals, the whole nine.” Keith scoffed and pushed Deadpool away from him. 

 

“I’m not going on a date with you, Dead.” Keith said flatly. Deadpool sagged.

 

“Aww, why not? I thought we were buddies, Spidey.” Keith narrowed his eyes and frowned - not that Deadpool could see his face - taking a step closer to the edge of the building. 

 

“Think whatever you want. I’m going to go finish my patrol.” And with that he swung away across the many buildings stretching across New York, leaving Deadpool to half-heartedly ask “Raincheck?” to the empty space in front of him.

 

___

 

Keith collapsed onto his bed sometime after midnight, cursing himself for going out on a school night. At least he wasn’t super banged up this time. Only a couple bruises on his stomach that he could easily hide from Shiro, the only one who really cared where the bruises came from.

 

He always felt guilty hiding his powers from Shiro, but he knew that his brother would never let him risk his life - even if it were to save others. But he can’t help but scoff at the hypocrisy of that, Shiro risked his life every time he went to work battling various types of fire from small to large scale, so why should Keith be the one to let people die?

 

He pondered this as he fell asleep, letting the dark tendrils of unconsciousness to overtake him.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance wants Keith to like him, Keith makes a joke, and Shiro is a mother hen.

“Pssst. Keith. What did you get for number seven?”

 

“...”

 

“I got Waterloo.”

 

“Lance, this is a  _ math  _ test.”

 

“Lance, Keith, stop talking!” 

 

Lance and Keith both shrunk back and focused their attention to the test in front of them. When the teacher called time and picked up everyone’s test, Lance turned to Keith.

 

“How did you think you did?” Keith glowered at him.

 

“Why do _ you _ care?” Keith snarled at him. Lance threw his hands up in surrender.

 

“Just asking,” he paused for a second, as if he was deciding on his next words, “You know, you would probably have a lot more friends if you smiled more, and, you know,  _ talked  _ to people.” Keith glared at him again.

 

“Maybe I don’t want any friends.”

 

“Everyone wants friends. I’m sure that even a recluse like you would like to have a companion once in awhile.”

 

“Fuck off, you don’t know anything about me.” And with that, the bell rung and Keith threw his bag over his shoulder and walked out, leaving a speechless Lance in his wake.

 

___

 

Lance muttered to himself about unfashionable mullets and pretty faces as he carried the space goo they called cafeteria food to his table where Pidge and Hunk were already waiting for him.

 

“Hey Lance!” Hunk greeted with a smile, which faltered when he noticed the scowl on his friend’s face. “Hey, what’s up?” He asked, a hint of concern in his voice. Lance just scowled harder and pushed the green mush around on his plate.

 

“Let me guess,” Pidge started, staring analytically at Lance’s face, “You tried to talk to Keith again, but he shot you down and now you’re sulking.”

 

“It’s like every time I talk to him he stares at me like a killed a puppy or something!” Lance exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air exasperatedly and in turn flicking some goo over his head and into the hair of a blonde who turned and glared daggers at Lance. 

 

He winced in apology and fear. “Sorry Nyma.” She scoffed, stood up, and stomped away.

 

Hunk ignored her and patted Lance on his shoulder. “There, there. Maybe he just doesn’t like the way you approach him?”

 

“Or maybe he just doesn’t like you.” Pidge deadpanned, taking a bite out of her ham and cheese sandwich.

 

“Pidge!” Hunk exclaimed, peeking over at Lance who had a determined look on his face. Pidge stopped when she saw the look. They both had seen that face before, generally before something bad happened.

 

“Oh no.” They said in unison.

 

“Then I’m going to make him like me!” Lance declared, and marched across the cafeteria to where Keith sat.

___

 

“Hey Mullet.” Keith bristled.

 

“What?” He asked sharply, causing Lance to smirk. 

 

Lance was currently sitting on the table where Keith was trying to eat the space goo, crossing his arms and looking smugly at the raven haired boy. Apparently this was becoming a regular occurrence for Keith.

 

“I just wanted to spend time with my new friend, Keithers.”

 

“I’m not your friend, and don’t call me that.”

 

“Call you what, Keithers?”

 

“ _ That.  _ Don’t call me Keithers.” He scowled at Lance, “Look, did you just come over here to annoy me? Because if you are, please leave.” Lance slid off the table and into the seat next to Keith, his face still smirking but more serious now.

 

“Earlier today you said I didn’t know anything about you.” Keith looked over to him and raised an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah? So?”

 

“Sooooooo,” Lance said, drawing out the ‘o’, “Tell me about yourself.” Keith’s eyes widened.

 

“Hell no.”

 

“Awww, come on Keithers! Here, I’ll even go first!” Keith stared at him expressionlessly, but Lance ignored him, “My name is Lance McClain. I’m seventeen years old and I have five siblings. I’m Cuban, and yes, I speak Spanish.” Lance waggled his eyebrows as he said the last part. Keith sighed.

 

“I’m Keith Kogane. I’m seventeen. I have one brother. His name is Shiro.” Lance looked at him expectantly, “What?”

 

“Nothing else?”

 

“No?”

 

“C’mon man! You’ve gotta give me more than that!”

 

“I’m gay.” Keith deadpanned. Lance sputtered. “What?” Keith asked.

 

“Dude! You don’t drop a bombshell like that! I meant like hobbies or something!”

 

“My hobby is being gay.” Lance stares at him with a shocked expression before bursting out into laughter.

 

“D-did you just make a joke?” Keith smirks.

 

“Maybe.” Lance slaps his back and continues laughing.

 

“You need to joke more often.” Keith smiles and giggles a little bit.  _ God, he’s cute. Wait, what? _

 

“Do you… want to come sit at my table?” Lance asked tentatively, jolting in realization and raising his palms. “But only if you want to! I mean- I just never see anyone sitting with you and I just wanted to ask…” He trailed off when Keith started laughing again.

 

“Yeah, okay.” 

 

“Wait, really?” Keith shrugs.

 

“Sure, why not. I wanna see if the people you hang out with are as weird as you are.” Lance wants to object but Keith is standing up already and he looks at Lance expectantly.

 

“Right! Well, uh, this way then.”

 

___

 

“What are you doing up there?” Keith looked up from his chemistry equation and down to the speaker. Shiro was looking up at him, shielding his eyes from the setting sun, which was behind Keith.

 

“Just some chemistry homework.” He called back down.

 

“On the roof?” Keith shrugged.

 

“Figured I’d wait for you to get back.”

 

“Well come down, you’re giving me an ulcer.” Keith rolls his eyes and picks up all of his books and papers, shoving them into his backpack. He walks over to the edge of the roof and slides down the drainpipe. He hears a sharp intake of breath from Shiro. “Jesus, Keith. It’s like you’re trying to give me a heart attack.”

 

Keith just shakes his head at his overprotective brother. “Don’t act like you didn’t act the same way when you were my age.” Shiro puts his hands on his hips, reminding Keith of a indignant mother.

 

“Excuse you, I was a perfectly well-behaved child in my teens.” Keith snorts as he holds the door open for Shiro and enters after him.

 

“I doubt it.” He laughs at the betrayed look that Shiro shoots him."What's for dinner?" He asks, and Shiro sighs. 

 

"Unless you're making something, I don't really feel like whipping up a full-fledged meal." Keith smiled and shrugged. He took off his jacket and hung it neatly on the wall next to Shiro's. He threw his backpack under it in a less-neat manner. 

"Nuh-uh. You take that back to your room so I don't trip over it and break something in the morning." Keith rolled his eyes and ran his backpack up the stairs to his room then back down again.

"Do you want to just order pizza?" Keith asked. Shiro tapped his chin for a moment, as if contemplating the pros and cons of having greasy pizza for dinner. But he made up his mind and pulled out his phone.

"You'd better be finishing that homework while it's getting here, young man." Keith smiled and rolled his eyes. For a young man of 24, Shiro really did sound like an old lady at times.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *chilling and watching anime* *realizes I'm supposed to post chapter today*  
> Me: SHIT  
> It's all good tho


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is an asshole, Shiro and Keith go to the movies, Keith is a little shit, and Lance apologizes.

“Aw come on, Mullet. I was just kidding!” Keith just glared harder.

 

“Your teasing is normally bad enough, Lance. But even I have to admit you went a little too far this time.” Hunk’s voice came from behind him.

 

“Are you serious?! Keith is just acting like a baby!” Pidge moved in front of him.

 

“Lance, please stop.” Lance’s expression grew angry.

 

“Fine, traitors.” Then he turned and stormed out. Keith glared at his back as he left, tears pricking at the back of his eyes. Tears he hoped no one could see.

 

“Is he going to be alright?” Keith found himself asking, even though Lance had just been a grade-A asshole to him moments before.

 

Hunk sighed. “Yeah, he just needs to blow off some steam.” Keith nodded. He didn’t actually feel mad at Lance, he just felt sad. He hated it. He hated feeling sad. He wanted to feel mad.

 

“Thanks. For, uh, you know, sticking up for me.” Hunk smiled.

 

“Of course, we’re your friends after all.” His chest felt warm, but he tried to ignore it.

 

“But why defend me instead of Lance? You’ve known him longer.”

 

Pidge shrugged, “He’s our friend too. But friends can be assholes sometimes. And when that happens they need to be put in their place.”

 

“Yeah, I get that. But why be friends with someone who acts so horribly at times?”

 

Hunk smiled kindly at him. “Lance can be… boisterous at times. He’s a little bit much to handle at best. But that’s his outside layer. Once you get in deeper, get to know him a little better, you’ll find he has a heart of gold.” Keith stared at the doorway which Lance had just left through. Hunk was always the wise one.

 

“I guess that makes sense.” He said quietly.

 

___

 

“So what was it you wanted to see?” Shiro asked, staring at the form of his brother pulling him along to the ticket lines in front of the theatre.

 

“Power Rangers.” Shiro laughed.

 

“Isn’t that a kids show?” Keith stopped tugging him as soon as they got into line.

 

“Not anymore, they made it into a movie. I saw the promos and it looked really cool.” Shiro shrugged and stepped up to the window.

 

“Two for the 7:30 showing of Power Rangers, please.”

  
  


When they got out of the movie, it was a little after 9:30. Keith was following behind Shiro, turning his phone back on, when his brother suddenly stopped, causing Keith to run into him.

 

“Sh- What?” Keith looked up at Shiro’s face, which had the same expression as a deer in the headlights. Keith followed his gaze, his eyes landing on the tall form of Allura. He smiled.

 

“Hey Allura!” He called, drawing her attention to both him and Shiro. Shiro’s head snapped toward him at breakneck speed, a horrified look on his face. Keith smirked and saluted at him just as Allura’s smiling figure made it’s way towards them. 

 

“Good luck, soldier.” And with that he left the two adults alone and slipped into the crowd near the arcade.

 

He peeked around the corner of a Pac-Man arcade man, laughing at his brother stuttering while talking to Allura.

 

“Heya Keith, who are ya spyin’ on?” Keith jumped at the sound of Lance’s voice.

 

“Lance? What are you doing here?” He asked, turning around to face the other boy. Lance shrugged casually.

 

“Came out to use the bathroom, but when I tried to get into the theatre again they said I couldn’t go back in unless I had my ticket stub. So I’ve just been hanging around here. I might go home soon.” He shrugged again. His face turned solemn. “Hey, I’m sorry for what I said earlier. You know, about your family.” He wasn’t looking Keith in the eyes. 

 

Keith let a small smile spread across his face. “What? The great Lance McClain? Apologizing? Someone call the press!” Lance punched his shoulder.

 

“Hey! I’m being nice! Do you accept my apology or not?” Keith laughed.

 

“Sure. why not?” He looked around for Hunk and Pidge, or some of Lance’s other friends. “Did you come here alone?” Lance had a sheepish look on his face.

 

“Yeah… All my siblings were busy and I just really wanted to watch a movie. Kind of a bummer, though. I never got to finish the movie.”

 

“That’s kind of shitty customer service if you ask me.” Lance nodded.

 

“So who were you spying on?” Keith jolted at the question and looked around the machine again. Shiro and Allura were still talking.

 

“My brother and his crush. Her name is Allura.” Lance quirked an eyebrow at him and looked over his shoulder at Allura and a blushing Shiro who was holding it together quite well.

 

“She’s hot. Are they on a date or something?” Keith laughed and shook his head.

 

“Oh God no. I was here with Shiro, but I saw Allura and made him talk to her.” Keith peered at the two talking about 20 feet away. Lance said something but Keith was preoccupied watching Allura hand his brother a slip of paper, wave, and walk away. Then Shiro’s face turned angry and he began making his way over to where Keith and Lance were.

 

“Oh shit oh shit oh shit.” Keith began chanting, ducking behind the machine once again.

 

“What is it?” Lance asks.

 

“Shiro’s coming towards us.” Lance’s eyes widened and Keith laughed. “Relax. You go, I’ll deal with damage control.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Positive.”

 

“Alright,” Lance smiled, “later Keith.” And with a wave he was gone. Keith waved back, but only after Lance had gone. Then he was being yanked up by his shirt.

 

“How’d it go? You ask her out yet?” Keith asked smugly, not a shred of fear in his voice. Shiro blanched and blushed, releasing Keith in favor of staring at the floor.

 

“I- Shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I was supposed to update yesterday but I never got around to it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deadpool asks why Spiderman is so against killing, Lance is a damsel in distress, and Keith makes a pun.

Deadpool stuck the barrel of his pistol against the side of the crook’s head. He was ready to deliver a one-liner and blow this shithead’s brains out before a metal-wired web (or as Deadpool liked to call them ‘sticky spidey-webs’) shot out from nowhere and statched the gun from his hand.

 

He turned to the right, where the web had come from, and smiled behind his mask. “Spidey. Babe. Mi amigo. I was wondering when your self-righteous ass was going to get here. I had to take down the whole lot of them myself! I think I broke a nail!” Deadpool complained. He could almost see the cold glare Spidey was giving him behind his mask. 

 

“Deadpool, what was the one thing I told you to never do?”

 

“Pick ass wedgies in public.”

 

“Yes, and what else?”

 

Deadpool sagged. “Don’t kill people unless it’s in self-defense.”

 

“Good. Now, keep that in mind next time I’m late.”

 

“You’re such a perfect role model, Spidey.”

 

“Yeah yeah, whatever, let’s just get this asshole back to the police station.” Deadpool put a hand over his mouth and gasped.

 

“Such profanity Spidey.” 

  
  


“Why are you so against killing, Spidey?” Deadpool asked, sitting to the side of Keith. They were sitting on the edge of the news building, having already completed their nightly watch as the first signs of the sunrise began to show themselves.

 

“It doesn’t matter.” Keith didn’t like to think about the answer to that question, thinking about the sight of his parents blood on the pavement.

 

Deadpool, who somehow had developed the ability to read signals in the last 30 seconds, changed the subject. “So who are you when you aren’t a self-righteous pain in my ass?” Keith crossed his arms.

 

“Like hell I’m telling you. It’s bad enough I have to deal with you on night watch, can you imagine if I knew you in everyday life too? And, in case you haven’t noticed, you’re more of a pain to me than I am to you.” Deadpool feigned hurt by placing his hand lightly on his chest.

 

“You wound me Spidey. You wound me deep.” Deadpool moved his face over Keith’s shoulder, speaking into his ear. “C’mon, Spidey. I’ll tell if you tell.” Keith pushed Deadpool away from him, but not before shuddering slightly. Keith hoped he didn’t notice. Deadpool noticed.

 

“Hell no.” They were both quiet after that.

 

The silence stretched out, the two heroes looking at the horizon. “Oh look, the sun is rising.” 

 

The aforementioned ball of light was lazily hoisting itself over the New York City skyline, slowly lighting up the city in a soft yellow glow.

 

“How romantic.” Deadpool said, placing his hand over Keith’s.

 

Keith didn’t pull away.

 

___

 

“Keith, wake up.”

 

“Mmmph.”

 

“Keith, it’s noon.”

 

“Uggggggh.” Keith sat up lazily in his bed, coming face to face with a tired looking Shiro.

 

“I figured that I’d say goodbye before I head off to work.” Keith nodded and rubbed his eyes. 

 

“Thanks.” Keith said. Shiro smiled at him. 

 

“Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone, okay?” Keith snorted.

 

“As if. You need a life to get into trouble. Have fun at the station.” Shiro waved as he left Keith’s bedroom.

  
  


Keith didn’t have much to do at his house. He figured Shiro would appreciate it if the common areas were clean so he did some work around the house. Straightening up the pillows on the couch, washing the two dishes in the sink, vacuuming the living room, and even taking the trash out. 

 

Once he finished that, he went to work tinkering with his web shooters. But he stopped after he accidentally triggered a spray of web to shoot out over his light switch. It took half an hour to get it off. 

 

By the time the sun went down he was bored out of his mind. He figured it was late enough to go on patrol, Shiro wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning anyways.

 

He slipped his suit on and stared at the mask in his hands, the black lines running along it, forming a spider web. The unsettling white of the eyes. This was it, this was his separate identity. This was who he became when he prowled the rooftops at night, searching for the next person that he would either save or put behind bars.

 

He pulled the mask down over his face, carefully tucking the raven hairs at the back of his head under it.

  
  


It was raining. Not pouring, just a small drizzle. Small enough so that it wasn’t an inconvenience for Keith. He watched the people in the street below, scurrying with and without umbrellas. Some in suits, carrying briefcases. Some in just regular street clothes, hoods up and walking briskly to get out of the rain. He sat in the shadows, unnoticed by the civilians rushing to get into buildings or calling cabs to get home. After an hour, the streets were mostly empty, save for a couple people that would scuttle by every so often.

 

It was relaxing, for once.

 

A lanky figure rounded the street corner, tall figure illuminated in the street light. Keith did a double take then shrunk further against the wall that he was clinging on to.  _ Shit,  _ he thought,  _ that’s Lance _ . 

 

Lance’s carmel skin looked golden in the light of the street lamps that lined the edge of the road. He was walking like he had all the time in the world, he was even whistling softly. A typical Lance thing to do. Keith shook his head to clear it, watching the other boy intently. 

 

Part of him wanted to know why Lance was on the bad side of town, strolling down the very street where several muggings had taken place over the past few weeks. Keith’s heart started beating faster when Lance passed an alley and a dark figure emerged from it, followed by two more.

 

Keith made his way to the roof of the building, ready to make an entrance if anything happened. The lead figure stepped into the street light, revealing himself to Keith as Lucas Sendak, a wanted petty thief in the area, and probably the one behind the muggings. His two goons stopped behind him.

 

“Hey kid,” he called out. Lance turned around, his eyebrows lifting a little in surprise at the figures, “looks like you’re in the wrong part of town.” He took something out of his pocket, flipping it open and revealing a blade. Lance started to back away slowly, putting his hands up in defense.

 

“Now let’s not be too hasty here guys.” Lance’s voice was even, not betraying any fear. Sendak smirked and began walking towards Lance, but was stopped when he realized that his feet wouldn’t move anymore. He looked down and let out a yelp of surprise as he saw the web covering his shoes, making him stick to the sidewalk.

 

Keith jumped and landed between Lance and Sendak. “Now I’m not exactly sure,” Keith started, easily grabbing the switchblade from the still shocked criminal and flipping it closed, “but jumping teenagers, or anyone for that matter, with a weapon is considered against the law. Am I right?” Sendak scowled at him. 

 

He turned around to look at Lance, who looked stunned but managed a small “Yeah.” Keith smiled, shooting two webs at the two goons who were attempting to retreat, effectively sticking them to the concrete alongside their leader.

 

“You guys can just _stick_ _around_ until the nightly police patrol makes their way around the block. Alright?” Three groans and a small giggle from behind answered him. He turned and smiled at Lance, not that Lance could see it.

 

“Um… thanks for saving me.” Lance said slowly, looking at the ground then back up at Keith.  _ Shit. What happens now? _

 

“U-uh, you’re welcome.” Keith mentally slapped himself for stuttering.

 

“Do you wanna… walk me the rest of the way home? Y’know, so no one jumps me again?” Lance smirked, charming as usual. Keith blushed furiously under his mask. He forced his voice to be even.

 

“Sure.” Lance smiled, jerked his head in a ‘follow me’ sort of gesture, turned, and started walking. Keith followed behind him.

  
  


A few blocks and a couple of minutes of awkward silence later, Lance stopped in front of a run-down apartment building.

 

“Well, this is me.” Keith nodded. 

 

“I guess I’ll see you around.” He said, and shot a web onto the corner of a building, hoisting himself up.

 

“Wait!” Lance called after him. Keith lowered himself upside-down on the same string in front of Lance so that they were eye level.

 

“Yeah?” Keith asked. Lance smirked.

 

“Can’t I properly thank my hero?”  _ What does he mean by that- oh.  _ Lance started to pull Keith’s mask down, but Keith caught his wrist as he started to pull it past the tip of his nose. Lance blushed and pressed a small kiss to Keith’s lips, causing Keith to blush as well. Lance wove his hands around Keith’s jaw and into the soft strands of hair at the back of his head.

 

Lance’s lips were incredibly soft. He pulled away before Keith’s brain had time to realize that he was  _ kissing Lance.  _ Lance smiled and blushed a little harder, and so did Keith. 

 

“Um… goodnight Spidey.” He said, a little bit of uncertainty in his voice. Keith’s dumb teenager brain, which was preoccupied trying to analyze what just happened, was too numb to formulate a sentence so he just waved dumbly. 

 

Lance waved back and made his way inside the crappy apartment complex. Keith watched the door close behind him and pulled down his mask again. His head was spinning with the same question repeating over and over in his head.

 

_ WHAT? _

 

He just  _ kissed  _ Lance. And he had liked it. His brain shifted into full overanalyze mode. 

 

_ That was my  _ _ first _ _ kiss! First kiss with  _ _ Lance _ _! I thought Lance was an asshole?! Oh but his lips were so soft. Shit, what now? What will I say when I run into him at school? Just act like nothing happened? What else could I do? ‘Oh hey Lance, remember when you kissed Spiderman? Yeah, well, that was me. I’m actually a superhero.’ No, that just sounded stupid. What if- _

 

Keith shook his head, now wasn’t the time to freak out. He had to get home first. He momentarily put the thought of Lance out of his head and ended his nightly patrol early.

 

He practically crashed through his bedroom window, landing on the carpeted floor with a soft thud. He rolled into a crouched position and stood up. He ripped the mask off of his head, suddenly being unable to breathe inside of it. He just barely remembered to strip off the rest of the suit and stuff it under some clothes in his closet before collapsing onto his bed, falling into a restless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guess who forgot to update (again)? Sorry guys, it won't happen again.
> 
>  
> 
> (It will probably happen again)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro is embarrassing, the antagonists show up, Keith wants to die, and Lance is a clever son of a bitch.

Luckily or unluckily (Keith couldn’t tell) he had a whole Sunday to reflect about the events that had transpired last night. Lance had texted him multiple times (Lance always frequently texts Keith, it’s been that way ever since Keith gave him his number a few days ago. It had become a norm for Keith to wake up and fall asleep to a text from Lance) but Keith couldn’t bring himself to answer. Which was probably even more suspicious than sending an awkward text.

He buried himself under the blankets in his bed, choosing to hide away rather than face the world. A knock at the door thought otherwise.

“Keith?” Shiro’s muffled voice came through the door. “Can I come in?”

Keith groaned into his pillow, Shiro took that as an affirmative. Keith sat up as Shiro walked in.

“Oh God, you look horrible.”

“Thanks.” Keith muttered. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and saw that Shiro was right. His hair was a mess, there were bags under his eyes, his clothes were wrinkled, and the expression on his face wasn’t winning him any points.

“Can I ask what happened?” Shiro questioned. Keith flopped back down onto his pillow. “Are you having problems making friends again? Are people being mean to you at school?’

Keith shook his head. “No. Nothing like that.”

“Bad grade on a test?” He shook his head again. “Boy problems?” Keith stayed still.

Shiro smiled. “Aha. Is it that boy you were with at the movie theater?” Keith scowled and rolled on his side, facing away from Shiro. “Do you wanna talk about it?” Keith shook his head. Shiro stood up. “Well, okay then. I’m heading to the store. Want anything?” Keith stayed silent.

“Alright then, I’ll be home in a little bit.” Keith grunted as Shiro walked out of his room.

A half-hour to an hour later there was another knock at Keith’s door. “Keith?” Shiro’s voice asked tentatively, “Can we talk?”

Keith, confused, sat up and called, “Yeah? What about?” Shiro opened the door holding a grocery bag. Shiro took a seat on the edge of the bed and started rifling through the sack.

“Well, I know you’re a teenager now, and I trust you to be responsible, but I can’t help but worry about you being safe...”

A realization dawned on Keith. “Shiro, no.”

“...Now as a teenager you may experience certain… wants.” Keith buried his head in the pillow as Shiro pulled some condoms and lube from the bag.

“Please tell me this isn’t happening.”

“I’m here to let you know that everything you’re feeling is completely natural.”

“No no no no no no no.”

“But even if it’s a man you’re having sex with, you still need to worry about protection.”

“Shiro, for god's sake, please stop talking!” Keith sat up and threw a pillow at his brother. Shiro laughed and Keith stood up, pushing Shiro off the bed and out of his room.

“Okay! But let me know if you need to learn anything! The internet is a shady place, no matter how educational!” Shiro called through the door. Keith buried his head in his hands and groaned.

When did life become this complicated?

___

Far away from Keith’s tiny house, and deep into New York city, there stood a dark alleyway between a tattoo shop and a hair salon, both with their lights off for the night. A stray tomcat rustled through trash cans to try and find a bite to eat. Everything is still.

Suddenly, a bright purple light flashes through the alleyway, startling the tomcat. It yowled and ran out onto the sidewalk. Eventually, the purple flash fades and leaves two lone figures standing in the dark.

The first, a haggard old woman, whose face is covered by the large hood of her robe, speaks. “So this is Earth.” She says, her voice crackling with age. “Quite pitiful honestly, isn’t it Zarkon?” The second figure, a large man with purple skin and glowing purple eyes, turns to her.

“I agree. There isn’t much to see here.” He sighed. “Oh well, draining the Quintessence of this planet should be easy. Then we can be on our way back to Daibazzaal.” The woman nods.

“Let’s get started.”

___

It was Monday already and Keith was slowly debating whether or not shoving his fork into his eye was a good idea or not.

Last time he had looked at his phone he had 30 texts from Lance and 5 missed calls. He eventually texted Lance back, saying he had a cold and a sore throat so he couldn’t really talk on the phone right now, and Lance had bought it, saying that he hoped Keith felt better soon.

Keith stared down at his eggs in despair. How was he supposed to act around Lance now? Does he just act like it never happened? Should he tell Lance about his secret? About being Spiderman? Keith shook his head. That was one secret that must be kept. He hadn’t told anybody, not even Shiro. Plus, it could put Lance in danger.

No, it seemed the most sensible route to take would be to stay quiet.

Keith scraped his eggs into the trash can, suddenly having lost his appetite, grabbed his backpack off the hook, yelled a quick goodbye to Shiro, and headed off to school.

 

Given the high school wasn’t that far from his house and the fact that he had a little time until school actually started, Keith took his skateboard.

He tried to recite what he was going to do about the whole Lance situation on the way but nothing really stuck with him right. He eventually settled on just ignoring Lance for the entirety of the school day. Which, wouldn’t be hard. Keith didn’t have a class with him until right before lunch and he could just make an excuse to his math teacher about not feeling well. Then, he would have to stay in the nurse's office until lunch was over.

Keith nodded.  _That’s what I’m going to do._

Unfortunately, Keith’s plan was ripped to shreds as soon as he made it to his locker. He was just shoving his chemistry textbook into his backpack and closing the door when Lance’s voice startled him.

“Hey man.” Keith jumped about five feet in the air, hitting his head on the still-open locker door and groaning in pain. He turned around to face Lance, wincing for more than one reason.

“Heeeeeey Lance.” Oh god, he sounded so guilty. Lance knows. He knows. Abort mission. Abort mission. Abort-

Lance smirked at him and suddenly leaned forward with no warning. Keith gasped as he found Lance’s lips pressing against his own. Alarms were blaring in his head but he ignored them in favor of pulling Lance closer. Then Lance was pulling away and all Keith could do was look breathlessly up at the other boy as Lance smirked again.

“Hey Spidey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M HORRIBLE HAHAHAHAHAHA. But hey, at least I wasn't late this time ;). Also, HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN SEASON 3 YET????? 'CAUSE LIKE HOLY QUIZNAK! I'm kind of partially dying inside.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a mental freakout, Lance isn't helping, and then there's a fire. Overall, a pretty angsty chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of referencing to a comic I found that features Spiderman!Keith by emuyh-art on Tumblr. Also, I'm moving updates to Sunday since school is starting soon and that way I can write over the weekend instead of stressing over it during the week. Hope you guys enjoy the long early chapter! (also sorry about the cliffhanger from the last one)

“WHAT?!” Keith yelled, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. He looked around. Apparently, the shock of Lance kissing him and outing his superhero identity was enough to drown out the sound of the first bell ringing.

 

_ What do I do? Play dumb? Laugh it off? Bribe him for his silence? Leave? Should I just kill him? Wow, okay. It’s bad that he knows but that doesn’t warrant killing him! Should I just off myself?  _ He was having a mental crisis and decided to just go with the first option.

 

“N-no!?! I-no?!” Then he switched to the second option. “Me? HA! HAHAHA?!? Where did you… Who? Who’s Spidey?” Lance stared at him, clearly not buying it.

 

“Dude,” Keith stopped laughing like an idiot, “We kissed when you saved me. I pulled down your mask.” Keith blushed and looked away. “I’d recognize your mullet anywhere.”

 

Keith’s hand subconsciously went to the back of his head. “My… mullet?”  _ Am I that obvious? _

 

He shook his head, trying to make sense of the situation. “Wait… You called me Spidey?” Now it was Lance’s turn to blush. 

 

Lance’s hand went to the back of his neck, rubbing it insecurely. “Uh… Yeah, I always do.” Keith stared at him for a moment, trying to make sense out of his words. The second he did, alarms were sent blaring through his head.

 

“Wait, you’re…?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“And we…?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“Oh my god...” Keith hid his face in his hands. “This is too much. I’m sorry Lance, I can’t deal with this right now.” He began to walk off but Lance caught his arm.

 

“Keith, wait.” Keith turned around and glared at Lance, who looked more serious than he had ever seen him.

 

“What…” Lance began a little breathlessly, he swallowed thickly, “What am I to you?” Keith ran a hand through his hair. 

 

“Lance, we are not doing this right now.”

 

_ “Please.”  _ Lance pleaded.

 

“Lance, I  _ can’t. _ ” He ripped his arm out of Lance’s grasp and stormed off. Lance’s eyes began to tear up as he walked in the opposite direction.

 

___

 

Keith walked all the way back home, a million thoughts running through his head and tears falling down his face. He wiped them away with his sleeve. He sent Shiro a text saying that he didn’t feel well and was going to stay home today. Shiro offered to come pick him up but Keith refused, knowing that Shiro had to work again. In response Shiro sent him a sympathetic ‘get better soon’ text.

 

When Keith got home he grabbed the nearest pillow and screamed into it for about five minutes, then he collapsed on the couch and stared at the dirty ceiling.

 

_ Why did this have to happen to me? _

 

___

 

Keith didn’t want to go on patrol tonight. He didn’t want to beat up a bunch of criminals with Deadpool- sorry  _ Lance.  _ He didn’t even want to see Lance at all. He considered skipping out on patrol tonight but he knew he couldn’t do that. He wasn’t going to throw away his duty to the city over a stupid personal issue.

 

So, he reluctantly suited up and snuck out of the window.

  
  


The building was lit up in flames. There were people screaming and children crying left and right. Keith had to get in there and save whoever was left.

 

“Spiderman!” A voice called behind him. He turned to see Shiro standing there. He forced his voice to be level.

 

“Is there anyone left in there?” He said, making his voice a little deeper so Shiro wouldn’t recognize it.

 

Shiro nodded and pointed up at the top floor. “There’s a family of three on the top floor, our guys can’t get to them because there are flames blocking all the routes. Can you do anything?”

 

“I can try.” Shiro smiled gratefully at him and Keith saluted him before shooting a web and swinging himself up onto the roof. Lance stood there, as if he was waiting for him.

 

“There’s a family inside.” Lance nodded stiffly and Keith was glad they could put their differences aside and work together for the time being. A woman’s scream came from inside.

 

Keith swung himself around and smashed through a window as Lance landed on the ground to get something for the fire.

 

A woman covered in soot and holding a little girl began to cry when she saw him.

 

“Oh thank god!” She yelled. She picked up the little girl and gave her to Keith, who rested her on his hip. “Please get Sophie to safety.” Keith nodded.

 

“We’re getting the ladder for you now, ma’am.” Lance said from where he was now sitting on the windowsill. She covered her mouth with her hand and sobbed with relief.

 

The ceiling creaked, weakening from the damage the fire had done. “We need to get out of here.” Keith told Lance, who nodded, taking Sophie from Keith and he leaned out the window, grabbing the firetruck ladder that had extended up to them. He started climbing down with Sophie clinging to him tightly. 

 

“You have to help my husband.” The woman told him, gripping onto his arm. “I couldn’t find him but I know he’s still in here.” Keith nodded. 

 

Keith gestured to the ladder after Lance had the chance to climb halfway down with Sophie. “After you ma’am.” She nodded and began climbing down the ladder. The building shook, about ready to collapse. He looked around urgently.

 

“Is anyone else here?!” He called out.

 

“I’m here!” A faint voice called. Keith made his way towards the sound. “I’m under here!” The voice called again, slightly louder this time. Keith spotted a man on the floor in the hallway. His leg was stuck under a piece of ceiling debris.

 

“It’s okay sir, I’m gonna get you out.” The man smiled at him gratefully.

 

“Oh thank god, I thought I was going to die. Did you find my wife and Sophie?” Keith nodded.

 

“Yeah, they’re safe.” The man sighed with relief and winced in pain. Keith circled around him, grabbing the piece of debris with both hands. He counted to three and heaved it off of the man, wincing at the sight of blood.

 

The building gave another shudder. “Can you walk?” The man shook his head. Keith lifted the man off the ground and supported the majority of his weight as they shuffled to the window where Lance was waiting.

 

“What took you so long?” He asked urgently.

 

“Sorry, I was a little busy saving people.” He shifted the man’s weight onto Lance. “Do you think you can help him down the ladder?”

 

“Yeah, of course I can.”

 

“I’m gonna do a last check to see if everyone’s out.” 

 

“Spidey…” Lance said in a warning tone.

 

“Don’t worry about me. Just help the civilians.” Reluctantly, Lance shrunk down the ladder.

 

Keith turned and went deeper into the building, calling out occasionally. The building kept shuddering and groaning. Even though the firefighters outside were doing all they could to get the fire out, there were still flames everywhere. Keith kept coughing from the smoke and ash that clouded the air.

 

“Is there anyone in there?” He called out.

 

“Help!” A tiny voice yelled. 

 

“Where are you?” Keith yelled, coughing again.

 

“I’m over here! Please help me!” Keith ran towards the voice. “I’m scared!” Keith rounded a corner and caught sight of the owner of the voice: a little boy around seven or eight years old.

 

“It’s okay, I’m gonna get you out, alright?” The boy nodded, clutching onto a stuffed animal.

 

Unfortunately, there was an entire hallway covered in flames separating them. The little boy coughed into his fist.

 

“What’s your name?” Keith asked, edging around the fire.

 

“Thomas.” 

 

“Okay, Thomas, I’m gonna need you to do something for me.” Thomas nodded. “I’m gonna need you to stay put, and cover your mouth with your shirt so you don’t breathe in the smoke, okay?” Thomas nodded again and complied.

 

The building shuddered again, on the verge of collapse. Keith cursed quietly to himself. He was going to have to work quickly. He started moving a little faster and the floor creaked underneath him, unable to support his weight. He slowed down again. The entire building shook and Keith looked up to the ceiling and Thomas did the same.

 

The supports gave a final groan and Keith lunged to protect Thomas as the ceiling collapsed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIED I'M NOT SORRY MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! My hands hurt from typing ow. Don't worry Keith is fine and so is Thomas I hate killing characters so don't worry.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas and Keith are saved, Lance jumps out a window, Keith gets triggered, and Shiro gets serious.

Instead of the crushing weight Keith expected that would most definitely squish him to death, he felt nothing. He cracked open an eye and saw he had moved. Where he had been standing was now covered by a sizeable chunk of ceiling. Then he spotted Lance.

 

“Hey.” Lance croaked from underneath the pile of rubble. He winced in pain. Keith, after checking that Thomas was in no immediate danger of a collapse, ran over to him.

 

“You’re such an idiot.” He said trying to lift up the piece of ceiling.

 

“It’s a point of pride with me.” Lance bit out, rolling out from underneath the large piece of concrete after Keith lifted it up. Keith moved forward to check over him but Lance held up a hand. “I’m fine, I’ve already started regenerating. We need to get out of here before everything collapses.

 

Keith nodded and went over to Thomas. “Are you okay?” Thomas nodded, staring at Lance like he had just grown another head. “Alright, we’re gonna go out this window.” Keith approached it and tried to yank it open, but it wouldn’t budge.

 

He swore under his breath again. Lance stepped up beside him and pushed him aside. “I’ve got this.” 

 

Lance shoved his elbow through the window, shattering through the glass. He hissed in pain but made sure there wasn’t and glass shards that could stab whoever was climbing through. He stepped back and gestured to Keith.

 

“After you.” Keith stepped in front of the window, sticking his head out and shooting a web right above the frame. He stuck his head inside the room again.

 

“Alright Thomas, you’re coming with me. La-Deadpool, You can follow after us.”

 

Lance’s shoulders sagged. “Awww, I don’t get an escort too?” Keith ignored him and made sure Thomas was holding tight enough onto him and edged himself down the building. It gave another shudder and he moved faster. 

 

When he made it to the ground the building gave a horrifying groan. “Deadpool!” He yelled up at the window. The building kept creaking and shuddering. “Deadpool!” He called up again. He set Thomas on the ground. “Run to the firemen, they’ll help you.” He told the boy. Thomas bolted off and Keith stared up at the window in distress.  _ Where was Lance? _ The building gave a huge shudder. “DEADPOOL!” Keith screamed. 

 

Just then a figure flew out of the window and dove down. “That IDIOT!” Keith yelled, shooting a web and pulling himself up, shooting himself into the air where he caught Lance mid-fall. Lance clung to him as he pulled them onto the accompanying building’s roof just as the apartment building collapsed.

 

“What the hell were you thinking, Lance?” Keith growled. Lance stepped out of Keith’s arms and shrugged. 

 

“I’m invincible. That fall wouldn’t have killed me.” Lance said dismissively. There were sirens coming from the various emergency vehicles next door.

 

“We’re talking about this later.” Keith jabbed a finger at him, clearly not taking no for an answer.

 

Lance just shrugged and followed him as he jumped off the roof towards the sirens.

  
  


After the clean up was over, Lance joined Keith halfway across the city on top of a nameless skyscraper where most of their meetings seemed to take place. Keith finally took off his mask when the dust buildup became too much and Lance did the same. Keith stared at him for a moment. Deducting was one thing, but seeing it made it far too real. By the way Lance was staring at him, he probably thought the same thing.

 

The serious look dropped off of Lance’s face, replacing with his usual joking grin. He threw an arm around Keith’s shoulders.

 

“That was a nice move Spidey, you really saved my ass.” Keith shoved him away.

 

“Get away from me,” he growled at Lance, “Can’t you be serious for one second? You can’t always rely on your invulnerability to save you. You could have died jumping out that window had I not been there to save you.”

 

Lance smiled at him. “Aw, you’re so cute when you’re worried about me.” He kissed Keith’s cheek. Keith blushed furiously, grabbed Lance’s hand, slammed it on the ledge, and shot it with a web, sticking it to the slap of concrete. Lance tried to move his hand and groaned when it didn’t budge. “Aw come on! Keith, buddy, there’s no need for this-”

 

“Shut up.” Keith grumbled, facing away from Lance.

 

“Why are you so mad? It was just a-”

 

“Drop it.”

 

“Wait are you actually embarra-”

 

“Just stop talking!” Keith shouted, turning around and glaring at Lance. He schooled his face into a calm expression. “That’ll dissolve in two hours.”

 

“Spidey come on-”

 

“I’m going home. I have school tomorrow.”

 

“So do I!” Keith hopped up on the ledge and Lance pulled at his hand again. “Spidey come on.” Keith swung away and he swore loudly. “Not cool.”

 

___

 

The next day wasn’t any better than the one before. After school, Keith ran straight upstairs and collapsed onto his bed.

 

Keith stared blankly at the ceiling, too many thoughts running through his head to make any sense of them. He vaguely registered the sound of Shiro coming in through the front door and turning on the television.

 

He couldn’t focus on anything, too many ‘what if’s and ‘why’s running through his head. The one thing that disturbed him was the current theme of all the miscellaneous pathways running through his brain right now: Lance.

 

He could never figure that boy out. How Lance managed to be Deadpool, the reckless if not annoying super hero, and Lance, the high school student with a bad habit of making horrible puns, at the same time while not causing the slightest suspicion among his friends and even Keith himself was beyond him.

 

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, covering his eyes with his palms. He had  _ kissed _ Lance,  _ multiple times _ . And that means he also kissed Deadpool. He sat up, his hair all sorts of messy, and threw his feet over the side of the bed. He stood up and stretched, walking out of his room and down the stairs.

 

“-more fires have started in the city this month and are growing more common than ever before. Fire department officials have been investigating this issue, but have come up with nothing so far.” Shiro bit his lip as he leaned forward towards the TV.

 

“What’s that?” Keith asked. Shiro barely glanced at him before returning his gaze to the television.

 

“The news.” He said distractedly, then he turned off the television and looked over at Keith. “These fires are getting out of hand, and we have no idea what’s causing them. The chief said it’s probably electrical surges, but the fire we took down last night was a sturdy building, no way just a fire could take that out.”

 

“So what do you think it was?” Shiro shook his head and looked down at his hands in his lap.

 

“There could have been an explosion that weakened the structure, but not a gas explosion. It would have had to been something stronger than that.” 

 

“Like what?” Shiro looked up at him, his forehead creased. 

 

“It might have been a terrorist attack.” Keith froze.

 

“Are you serious?” He asked. Shiro nodded solemnly.

 

“I know it’s not a firefighter's place to come up with theories like this, but I can’t think of any other plausible explanation for it.” Shiro rubbed his forehead. “I don’t want to scare anyone, so unless the police come forward with a statement about it, I’ll have to ask you not to spread it around.”

 

Keith nodded and gave a reassuring smile. “Of course.”

 

Shiro gave a weak smile back and got up to get more coffee. Keith stared after him.  _ Terrorists? _

 

He brought his hand up to his mouth and bit his thumbnail, a bad habit he got when he was nervous. Before he could change his mind, he brought out his phone and sent a text to Lance.

 

_ 4:18 p.m. _

 

_ Lance, we need to talk. Meet me on the roof of the building on 24th and 1st. _

 

He sighed and put his phone back in his pocket. 

 

“I’m going out!” He yelled, running upstairs to his room. He shoved his costume into a bag and pulled on his shoes.

 

“Be safe! And make sure you’re home for dinner!” He ran back down the stairs and out of the house without replying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Laughs nervously* A whole month? How funny right?
> 
> Okay I'm sorry. I've been caught up with school and my birthday and getting a sort-of girlfriend.


End file.
